Locals in the Loupe (Alexandria) – Author Emily Murray

Anyone who knows me will know by now that I truly believe “Everything Happens For A Reason”, so when on November the 16th I ventured out to the Business Sisters Get-Together at “A sneak Peek of the new Glengarry Market Location” in Alexandria, I was super excited to meet a new group of ladies from this area. Sheldon Grant and I have recently built a “Tiny House” on County Road 18, between Martintown and St. Raphael’s and now are slowly getting to know this new community which I must say I already love dearly…especially as I met Emily there. She was looking through the November issue of the Seeker and saw a 5 question interview and automatically asked, “How do I get to appear in this spot”? I told her – we will definitely connect soon. In photo below: Author Emily Murray, Laura Peck of Laura’s B&B and myself of course, Seeker Chick Mai-Liis.

Well, on November 23rd, I visited Alexandria for the “Baby Please Come Home for Christmas” event and as I was passing the “Paper Plane Bookstore” I spotted this same lady through the window. Could that be Emily I thought, and automatically I turned my car around and stopped in front of the bookstore and went inside and guess what, inside was Emily Murray the bookstore’s featured author for the month of November, with her book “Alixandria Fire Dani and Danny” which launched December 1, 2022.

and suddenly the 5 Question Interview with Author Emily happened – read on…

1. Tell us a bit about yourself:

Although raised in the big city of Ottawa, I am a country girl and heart at feel most at home in a small town with wide open spaces and gravel roads. I am a navy wife and a mother of two young girls aged 4.5 & 2. While I hold degrees in Sociology, Psychology and Criminology, my most recent adventure has been an at home daycare.

2. How and when did I become a writer:

I have always been a writer. I wrote as a child but it became more of a serious endeavour when I was 14. The Ottawa Public Library hosted the Awesome Authors Contest and I entered then won my age division in 1997. That planted a seed that grew and blossomed into writing manuscripts. Finally I decided to go for it just before I turned 40 I decided to self publish and did so on December 1, 2022 with my debut novel Alixandria Fire Dani and Danny. I intend to self publish more in the coming years to complete the 4 books series that I’ve begun with my debut.

3. Where and how did you get your inspiration for your first book ‘’Alixandria Fire” and what is it about? I am curious, this is a 427 page novel and I am wondering how long it took to write?

A simple trip to a coffee shop sparked it all. Ordering a coffee should be an easy thing but more often than not the baristas (we love them) get our names wrong. Emily turns into Amy…a lot. So I decided to write a twist on that, my main characters have the same name so THEY switch the coffees. Sparks, chaos…will they crash and burn or will they get a happy ending? Every author, I believe, puts a little bit of themselves in their books so I will let your imagination guess what is me and what is truly fictional! This particular book took 1 year from start to finish. Subsequent ones may take slightly longer as my kids are older now and nap far less!

4. If someone wants to publish a book, do you have any advice for them and how would they go about writing and publishing the book?

Do it. Go for it. If not now when? Maybe the idea has been done before but it’s never been done YOUR way. Is it scary putting your voice out there? Yes! But you are going to be someone’s favourite author someday. I promise. Your voice deserves to be heard and the world is waiting for it! I decided to self publish through the Amazon KDP platform. I chose this because I wanted more control than I might have through traditional means. This avenue, however, comes with needing to wear all the hats. These hats include but are not limited to: editing, formatting, tech support, design, and marketing. I found it so valuable to find a writing community, mine is on Instagram. So many wonderful people can’t wait to help and cheer you on!

5. What does the future hold for you? Any more books on the horizon?

Alixandria Fire Dani and Danny is the first book in the series of hopefully four books. The next ones will focus on different couples. Faces and place will be familiar but two other characters will take centre stage. I am currently working on books 2 and 3. I hope to do more signings, events, and perhaps branch into public speaking.

Bonus Question: I do not have much spare time for reading these days, unless it is on my laptop and mostly related to my work, but I did purchase your book and plan to read it from cover to cover so that I can do a book review in the future. I know though, with Christmas coming and people being in search of that “unique gift” this little gem may be exactly what they are looking for to give to that special person on their Christmas List.

I am winding down my appearances/book signings and right now only have one more in my calendar; Stray Dog Brewery on Dec 17. However I do have my sights set on adding a few more dates at Indigo in the New Year. I have been very fortunate that so many business have embraced my book and can be found at the following locations; Tom’s Pantry, The Book Garden, Paper Plane Bookstore, Cedar and Fern, Red Cart Books, several local libraries, Indigo Barrhaven, Pincrest and Gloucester. Otherwise I can be contacted easily through Instagram and if you are close by I’m happy to sign and deliver a copy. My instagram is @author.emilymurray and my Facebook is @authoremilymurray. Additionally I am always updating my website with news and dates authoremilymurray.ca Thank you, The SDG & A Cornwall Seeker, so much for this interview opportunity and I can’t wait to see what’s next!